Dr. Francis Redmon named next KCSD Superintendent
by Christopher Miller
MILL HALL, PA – It’s official: as of February 1, 2024 Keystone Central School District will have a new school superintendent.
Present at the special voting session school board meeting tonight was Dr. Francis “Frank” Redmon, recently of Washington state, and current transplant to north central Pennsylvania.
In a vote of 8-0 with David Dietrich absent, and Wayne Koch and Polly Donahay meeting remotely by Zoom, Redmon was voted in and approved by the school board Thursday evening.
Mark DiRocco and Connie Kindler of DiRocco Education Consulting, LLC, the firm hired to lead the process to find the next superintendent to lead the district, explained the process they took to find Dr. Redmon.
“We started back in September and put a goal in place to have the process completed by the end of November,” Mr. DiRocco explained. “We then met with the board and talked about the leadership profile for the position – what were they looking for in the next superintendent, and what they were hoping to accomplish with the next leader of the district.”
Mr. DiRocco went on to explain the results of the survey that was crafted and distributed to the school staff, parents, and community members.
“We received 94 staff responses, and 159 community responses,” Mr. DiRocco explained. “We took the information from the survey and added it to the leadership profile.” For Mr. DiRocco, it was important to have the boards’ point of view, but also that of the staff, parents and community throughout the process.
“The advertisement went out throughout the state for 30 days across various websites, and then we started to screen applicants,” Mr. DiRocco said.
Of the 11 applications which included some currently-sitting superintendents, or those individuals with experience, only two were selected to meet for a second round of interviews.
“We brought two candidates in for the final interviews and they met with faculty, administration, and support staff members, then they met with the school board,” Mr. DiRocco explained. “The board then deliberated on merits, input from the community and groups, and after much discussion a consensus was reached with Dr. Redmon.”
Mr. DiRocco’s firm looked to have as much input as possible from as many stakeholders as possible. “The only major stakeholder that was not involved was the current superintendent, she was not part of the process,” he said.
Other team and staff members were also included in the interview process, “those who will be working closely for and with the next superintendent,” Mr. DiRocco said.
Connie Kindler, Associate Consultant at the firm leading the charge, added that, “when we receive applications, we go through them and do a thorough review: background checks, checking references provided and even references not provided…we promised to bring the district only viable candidates who fit the profile the school district has identified.”
Redmon, most recently of Quilcene School District, a rural district in Washington state, had served there as superintendent for five years prior to coming to Pennsylvania. He was also an administrator in an international United States school in Turkey, he is a Navy Veteran having worked as a nuclear operator, and he comes with recommendations with board members in Washington, and the Washington Association of School Administrators who were familiar with his work.
“I want to thank Mark and Connie for the great, professional and thorough interview process, I was well-informed throughout and well-supported by the hiring firm,” Redmon said. “For the board, I am looking forward to working together, and I think we both found a good fit for the school district and together we will thrive with the great work that Dr. Martin has set up for me; I am looking forward to getting to know you, moving in and understanding who KCSD is and all the parts and the system as a whole, I am honored to be able to serve with you, the community, and the kids.”
At the close of the meeting, outgoing school board member Wayne Koch gave a nice send-off to the board as he did not seek re-election.
“This is my last meeting, it has been quite an experience being on the board, and I will miss you people; I have mixed feelings about leaving, and I regret that I won’t be back,” Koch said. “It is time for me to move on, I have been on this board for 14 years and that is enough, thank you very much, everyone.”
Board member Elisabeth Lynch added her thanks to outgoing board member Frederick “Rick” Schulze for stepping into the position. “He was a great asset to the school district, he was just starting out and had so much he wanted to do, I thank him for stepping up to the plate.”
Dr. Redmon will officially step into the role of Keystone Central School District Superintendent on February 1, 2024.
